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 The Missouri  football team held another spirited practice this morning at Faurot Field under sunny skies and pleasant temperatures.

 The action Thursday morning was even on both sides of the ball, but the defense, as it has done each day since pads went on, pulled out a victory in the final period to win the day overall, and retain the black jerseys for Friday.

The Tigers will return to the practice field this afternoon for a short one-hour session in shorts and helmets, and then they'll hit the Mizzou Student Recreation Center to get in some pool time.

 They will return to the field for a single morning practice Friday, as they prepare for the first major scrimmage of the fall, set for 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Faurot Field.

Junior QB James Franklin returned to throwing, and he looked sharp after taking two practices off to rest his shoulder. In 11-on-11 scrimmaging, his top two throws of the day both went to senior WR Gahn McGaffie, who continued his strong camp.

The first was a 20-yard connection down the seam, and the last one was a nicely-timed sideline route that picked up 12 yards on a 3rd-and-8 play against the #1 defense.

The offense and defense were tied going into the final period of the day, meaning the final few series were a "winner takes all" proposition.

The #1 defense went up against the #2 offense initially, and junior DT Sheldon Richardson made a couple of big-time plays to get the defense off to a good start.

Richardson was in on a tackle behind the line, along with senior LB Will Ebner, to stuff a play for a safety.

A couple of plays later, Richardson got more penetration into the backfield and wrapped up senior TB Jared McGriff-Culver for a loss.

 True freshmen Maty Mauk and Dorial Green-Beckham are quickly developing a good chemistry, as they combined for perhaps the play of the day. With the #3 units squaring off in red zone work,

 Mauk found his target in the back of the endzone, and lofted a pass perfectly feathered over coverage. Green-Beckham leaped to secure the ball, and came down with a nifty tip-toe effort to get both feet in before falling out of the back of the endzone for the score.

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